GOP Budget Chaos…Again

Even as they put forward legislation to continue the irrational sequester and defund the Affordable Care Act, House Republicans still can’t stop fighting amongst themselves. Here is the latest round of the GOP chaos:

“Tea party activists and conservative political groups were unconvinced. For weeks, they have pressed Boehner to shut down the government or refuse to raise the debt limit unless Obama agrees to undermine his signature legislative achievement. On Tuesday, a flurry of angry e-mails from the Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund flooded Capitol Hill inboxes, threatening to punish lawmakers who support Boehner’s gambit.”

“Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) blasted the plan at a tea party rally on Capitol Hill. ‘If House Republicans go along with this strategy,’ he said, ‘they will be complicit in the disaster that is Obamacare.’”

“’There’s going to be tremendous pressure on the conference to vote against this idea,’ said Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), who said he would not support the budget bill because Boehner and Cantor refused to commit to push for a one-year delay of Obamacare as part of the forthcoming fight over the federal debt limit.”

“Angst is rippling through the House Republican Conference — from rank-and-file lawmakers to GOP leadership — as the chamber is already struggling to fully coalesce around a plan to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month.”

“Republican leadership’s plan to fund the government with a provision attached to a continuing resolution that would defund the health care law is meeting resistance in pockets of conservative lawmakers, who are threatening to oppose a procedural motion that would prevent leadership from bringing the bill to the floor.”

“With no Democratic support expected, just 17 Republicans need to oppose either the rule or the bill to blow up the entire plan. Conservatives said they have already locked up enough opposition to prevent the bill from moving to the floor. Of course, they say that a lot.”

“House Republican leaders struggled Tuesday to win over conservatives for a plan that would keep the government running through mid-December and force the Senate to vote on derailing implementation of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.”

“House leaders unveiled the plan to rank-and-file Republicans Tuesday but it was met with skepticism from some prominent conservatives and landed with a thud among grassroots architects of the ‘defund ‘Obamacare’ drive.”

“Hard-line lawmakers like Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., took to Twitter to denounce the idea, calling it ‘hocus pocus.’Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee, a group of conservatives that comprises a majority of the GOP caucus, said he couldn’t endorse the effort. And Senate Republicans behind the drive, including Ted Cruz of Texas, blasted it as well. Cruz is enormously popular with conservative voters.”

“A push by conservative House Republicans to cut funding for President Barack Obama's signature health-care law is complicating efforts to keeping the government running when the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.”

“House GOP leaders on Tuesday proposed a plan to fund the government through mid-December while forcing the Senate to vote on cutting funds for the 2010 Affordable Care Act. But conservatives unhappy with the health-care law have reacted with skepticism, saying that while it may compel the Senate, controlled by Democrats, to vote on health-care cuts, it won't lead to the dismantling of the program.”

“’This complex legislative gimmick will not stop the coming train wreck that is Obamacare, and I will refuse to vote for any spending bill…that does not fully defund Obamacare,’ said Rep. Paul Broun (R., Ga.).”

“Georgia Rep. Tom Graves is among those who oppose his party's plan, and he rejected the idea of waiting for the debt-ceiling talks to demand changes to the health-care law. ‘Now is the time to have that fight,’ he said.”

One would think with their proposed irresponsibly low government funding levels and health care on the imaginary Republican chopping block, that peace, harmony and good will would reign in the Republican Conference. Not so much. With the deadline to fund our government growing ever-closer, it looks like the pressures of governing may further divide this already-fractured party.